Online education a new frontier in China
Updated: 2014-05-03 11:14
By Meng Jing (China Daily)
|
|||||||||
Experts predict content will be enriched to include vocational skills, personal interests.
Xie Kan, a former TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) tutor at New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc, had never delivered a lesson to more than 200 students.
But in late April he set a personal record by teaching 1,500. And the venue was not your typical classroom but the 31 year-old's apartment.
Instead of standing at the front of a classroom at New Oriental's Hangzhou branch, Xie taught from his bedroom via a computer, camera and microphone.
"It was a very productive session. The Internet can help bring the teacher's power to the next level by giving lessons to a great number of students at the same time wherever they are," he told China Daily. It was the main driver for him to take part in online education.
Xie, had eight years experience at New Oriental, a provider of private educational services in China. He is one of the first teachers to establish an online teaching business, at 100.com - an online education platform, from YY Inc, a Chinese live video-streaming platform.
Nasdaq-listed YY offers a video platform to its 600 million registered online gamers and singers. At a press conference in Beijing in February, the company said it would branch out into online education. 100.com is a separate platform dedicated to online education and held its first teaching session on April 22.
"Tapping the online education sector is our company's top priority for future development," CEO Li Xueling said at 100.com's launch: "Through introducing innovative products and services, the Internet will revolutionize the traditional education sector, as it has retail, finance and other sectors for years now," YY is not alone.
Investors, including China's e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, put $100 million in February into TutorGroup, a language-learning platform popular with Chinese learning English. It's the largest investment in China's online education sector.
According to Beijing-based venture capital and private equity firm Zero2IPO Group, at least 25 online education startups received a total of nearly $2 billion investment in 2013. It compares with $17 million invested in eight companies in 2012.
- 'Taken 2' grabs movie box office crown
- Rihanna's 'Diamonds' tops UK pop chart
- Fans get look at vintage Rolling Stones
- Celebrities attend Power of Women event
- Ang Lee breaks 'every rule' to make unlikely new Life of Pi film
- Rihanna almost thrown out of nightclub
- 'Dark Knight' wins weekend box office
- 'Total Recall' stars gather in Beverly Hills
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Beijing integrates with Tianjin, Hebei |
Enemies share eternity together |
Expats flee big, smoggy cities |
Life after an only child dies |
Parents put kindergartens to the test |
Nomads change for education |
Today's Top News
China's manufacturing picks up in April
Chinese firms join IBM's new chip-tech group alliance
Xbox One may see buying rush in China
China's Xi orders 'crushing blow' to terrorism
Malaysia releases preliminary report on MH370
China, Russia to hold joint military exercise in May
Chinese, Australian PMs discuss MH370 flight
China, Russia to hold joint military exercise in May
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |